Conduit for electric wiring



Jan. 14, 1936. c. E. RUTHERFORD 2,027,619

CONDUIT FOR ELECTRIC WIRING Filed April 27, 1935 /3 /2 -17 '/a f 1 4 /gINVENTOR CHARLES E.RUTHERFO R0 BY M, y W W ATTORNEYS I Patented Jan. 14,1936 CONDUIT FOR ELECTRIC wmma Charles E. Rutherford, West Hartford,com, assignor to The Wiremold Company, Hartford, Conn., a corporation orConnecticut Application April 27 1935, Serial No. 18,555

1 Claim.

My invention relates to conduits for electric wiring. Its object is toprovide a conduit which can be used as an overfloor raceway, which ischeap, simple, strong, easy to installand safe, and which, wheninstalled on the floor of a room, does not project in such a way as topresent an obstacle to a person walking over the floor, particularly anobstacle over which a person will be likely to trip -or stumble.

10 i In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a view, partly in elevationsection on the line |-l of Fig. 2, of my conduit installed Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section on the same scale 15 on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

It, in Fig. 1, is a floor; II is the base member of the raceway, whichis formed of metal in the shape of a channel capable of receivingelectric wires, and is provided at intervals with countersunk holes I2for screws l3 by which it is fastened to the floor. The lateral verticalside portions.

ll, of the channel are bent to form projections or beads l5. 7

I6 is the cover member, also of metal, which 5 is made in the form oframp or threshold, and which at its edges 20 comes substantially in contact with the floor so that when it is installed on the floor it willnot present an obstacle over which a person will trip or stumble. I

3o I'he vertical projecting side portions M of the channel member I Iare of such length that when the cover member I6 is put in place thelower side of that cover member rests upon and is supported at twopoints by the side portions l4 where- 35- by additional strength,rigidity and resistance to deformation are afforded.

In the installation of my conduit the necessary number of lengths of thechannel member H are laid end to end upon the floor and fastened to it40 by the screws IS; a joint between two such sections as shown at 11,Fig. 2. Subsequently lengths of the cover member l6 are installed insuch a way as to break joints with the channel member, a joint of thecover member being shown at l8,

Fig. 2. The cover member I6 is applied by simply 5 pressing it down uponthe already installed channel member H, so that the internallyprojecting portions IQ of the cover member snap over and are held inplace by the beads IS on the channel member, the metal of one or bothmembers being in thin enough to provide sufficient temporary yield orspring for that purpose.

Whilethe device may be made of the size shown in the drawing, for mostuses it can be made smaller;

s I claim:

' In a conduit for electric wiring suitable i'or installation as a floorraceway, a channel member adapted to be fastened to the floor and having.upwardly extending flanges, said channel member being adapted toreceive electric wires, a cover member of substantially greater widththan said channel member for closing said channel and adapted "to extendinto substantial contact with the floor at its outer edges, said covermember 5' being so shaped as not to present an obstacle to a personwalking over the floor and having flanges extending inwardly from theouter edges thereof the two members together constituting an enclosurefor electric wires, projections on the upwardly extending flanges ofsaid channel member cooperating with the inwardly extending flanges onthe cover member to hold the cover member in place after it is snappedontothe channel member; the said upwardly extending flanges of saidchannel member tending to support the upper portion of the cover memberwhereby additional strength and rigidity are secured.

CHARLES E. RUTHERFORD.

